Take a sledgehammer and wrap an old sweater around it. This is your "shovelglove." Every week day morning, set a timer for 14 minutes. Use the shovelglove to perform shoveling, butter churning, and wood chopping motions until the timer goes off. Stop. Rest on weekends and holidays. Baffled? Intrigued? Charmed? Discuss here.

I'm a 72-year-old rural dweller, and one day last month while shoveling gravel on my driveway, I noticed how much my core muscles were being worked. I later checked in an old exercise book called "Heavyhands", and saw that the writer had promoted shoveling as an exercise for abs and back muscles. He even said that he had drilled a hole through a shovel so that he could bolt a barbell plate onto it to get a proper shoveling workout.

I looked online to see what I could find about shovel-type exercise, and of course I found Shovelglove. Great concept! Great idea! I have a couple of wood-splitting mauls, but decided to treat myself to a dedicated hammer. I bought a 10-lb. sledge, and became an enthusiastic shovelglover.

Instead of a sweater, I took a few old socks and pulled them one at a time over the hammer head, and down the handle.

I used to be a daily jogger, but two joint replacements have put my running days behind me. Nordic walking, snowshoeing, and sessions on an old Schwinn Air-Dyne exercise bike have kept my cardiovascular fitness fairly good. I was contemplating buying a $1,000 rowing machine in order to get more core involvement (I hate sit-ups, etc.), but no longer. After three weeks of regular shovelgloving, I can't see how a rower would work my abs, etc., better.

During those three weeks, I went on a trip, and decided not to carry my hammer into the hotels for fear of freaking out the staff. Instead, I took two 8-lb. handweights, and did my shoveling in my room with them. Not exactly the same, but a heckuva workout!

My hammer cost $35, so I saved $965 over the rowing machine, and I don't have to dedicate a whole room to the hammer, as I would have to with the 10-foot-long rower.

An elegant and efficient solution to the question of strengthening my core. Another benefit, because I live in really-big-snow country, is that I'm getting in condition for some winter shoveling--just in time!

I like your trick of using socks instead of a sweater. Probably retains it's shape better, aesthetically, and is less likely to come undone. Pictures very welcome if you're inclined to share! (Having visions now of yuletide sledgehammers stuffing stockings).

Thanks, Rheinhard (did I spell that correctly?) I'll have to figure out how to post a picture.

As you surmised, pulling some old socks over the hammerhead, alternating the direction each time, makes a snug and neat covering. I first tried an old fleece jacket, but it came off a couple of times. Also, my cats were dangerously attracted by the flopping material.

I like your idea of Xmas stockings stuffed with hammers !

Anyway, I now have a good use for worn-out socks. The holes don't matter because they are covered by another layer of sock above or below.